Lamp holder for fluorescent lamps



Jan. 18, 1949.

C. H. HODGKINS LAMP HOLDER FOR FLUORESCENT LAMPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug 51, 1944 INVENTOR Charles/2. Hodgkin. WW ATTOR Y Jan. 18, 1949. HODGKlNs 2,459,647

LAMP HOLDER FOR FLUORESCENT LAMPS Filed Aug. :51, 1944 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fig/4 \vyfiv I 53 I "53 WITNESSES? lNVENTOR Patented Jan. 18, 1949 UNITED --S;TATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAMP HOLDERFOR FLUORESCENT LAMPS Charles H. I-Iodgkins, Fairfield, Conn, assignor to The Bryant Electric Company, Bridgeport,

Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application August 31, 1944', Serial No. 552,119 9 Claims. (01.173-328) My invention relates, generally, to lamp holdhaving spaced contact pins at the ends thereof, f

such, for example, as fluorescent lamps.

Heretofore, it has been the practice to uiilize lamp holders of one-piece construction insofar as the main housing containing the flexible '01 resilient contact fingers is concerned. Such hous-v ings are usually made of an insulating material, such as a plastic, molded into the desired shape to provide a shell-type member open at the back and provided with a suitable slot arrangement in the face thereof to receive the lamp pins, the slots and upper ends of the contact fingers being so related as to releasably hold the lamp pins in their proper operating position.

Certain types of tubular lamps, such as 20 and 40 watt fluorescent lamps, have relatively short contact pins, and the depth of the lamp holders for use therewith is correspondingly shallow so that when the lamps areplaced in endto-end relation, there is a minimum spacing between the ends of the. lamps, and, consequently, the interruption of the light-emitting surface is at a '47.

minimum. This short lamp 'pin and. shallow holder makes it necessary for the fixture manufacturers to work to very close limits in the spacing of the holders in the fixtures so as to permit I ready insertion of the lamps and still provide adequate mechanical support therefor.

While subsequent experience has shown that the close spacing of adjacent ends of the lamps is not as necessary or important as originally thought, there is such a large number of existing:

installations in use that it is undesirable from an economic point of view to make suitable changes in either the lamp pins or the present type of rigid lamp holders toLovercome this disadvantage. Such changes would cause trouble sity of the fixture manufacturers of having to work to close'limits and still insure proper electrical contact between the lamp pins and the contact members of the holders and also provide adequate mechanical support to thelamps from fall-.

' l member of the holder ,ofFig. 1;

2 ing out of the holders due to improper lamping, etc.

The object of my invention, generally stated,

is to provide a lamp holder of the character described which shalltbeof simple and economical construction, and which may be used to replace holders of different types now in use inlighting fixtures. 1

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a lamp holder which shall function to accommodateitself to the spacing between the ends of the contact pins of a tubular lamp so thatthe mounting spacebetween holders nee'd not be held within relatively close limits to'.in-

sure proper electrical contact and proper mechanical support for the lamp. I v

' A further object of my, invention is toprovide for positively supporting an elongated tubular lamp and holdingthe lamp in its proper operating position regardlesslof whether or not it has been properly seated or inserted into the holders.

Another object-of my invention is to provide a lamp holder wherein the upright or lamp-supporting portion of the housing may moveor tilt relative to the base portion and is normally resiliently biased in abre'determined direction to a predetermined position. I

A further object of my invention is to provide alamp holder wherein thebase and lamp-supporting portions. of the housing are attached together by means of a spring member Whichal'so functions. to limit the backward movement of the lamp-supporting portion away fro'mthe end. of

the lamp; v

These and other'objects of my invention will become more apparent fromt'he following detailed description of two embodiments thereofwhen I read in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 isv a backview .in elevation of a lamp holder embodying the principal features of, my

invention; 1 v

' Fig. 2 is a side view'in elevation of'the lamp holder of Fig. 1 partially broken away toshow the interior of the housing;

Fig. 3 is a front view in elevation of the lamp holder of F1g ..1; l

Fig. 4 is a bottom view. of theholder of Figi 1; Fig, 5 isa front view in elevation of the. spring in. s i abl mah en also. pro id d w h an. upp r erhe penin .epe ing. r? t Fig. 6 is a side view in elevation of the sprin member;

Fig. 7 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 8 is a side view in elevation of a lamp and a pair of lamp holders constructed in accordance with one embodiment of my invention showing how the holders may be utilized in supporting a lamp in either an upright position, as shown or in any other desired position;

Fig, 9 is a back view in elevation showing a modification of my invention;

Fi 19 ice de. vi w-in eti h er he lame holder 015 159; i

Fig. 11 is a bottom view of Fig. 9;

Figs. 12 and 13 are elevational views oi the the lamp holder of contact fingers or springs of the lampholder of" Fig. 9; and Fig. 14 is a sectional view, taken along line XIV-XIV of Fig. 12. 7

Referring now to the drawings. the lamp holder shown in Figs. 1 through 8' comprises,

generally, a shell-type housing 10 of suitable insulating material formed in two separate main nartscne ct. which s mount o the o h The lower part H serves as a base portion to support the upri ht or lamp esupporting portion l2. and also as a. mounting. for the contact fiE EeISYO h h l e In this .embodimentof the invention. the lampsuppo t ne portion 1210f the. hous n is c structed in somewhat the same general manner as that-po i n c h hchsihee f. e r id em h lder. ccm hcnl in other ord an c nine, la is.' rev dec e the-. ece c the portion. l2. e a slot 14. ex e s rc the opening to the outer or, upper edge, 15 of the hQ si a-asshcwn. There is c w h the cen ralcpe ne a uidin ud 'w ich. is otte at IT in alignmentwiththef slot. [4; As .willbe read ly under t cdt his o arran ement is for the pu pos o eceivingthe spacedcontact p ns ct h lamp. o shown. in dow d dire ti until hreaches thelower edge of th ope ing [3; d'to permi o ati n. of the ins th the opening [3 into engagement with the. upper ends ct he flexib e co tact member i -s i W ed. d csedladiac n he openin 1.3.;

i Th he e c tichl of thehc sins s. recesse as shown in Fig. 2; to receive the terminal portions 2| and 22 of the contact members l8 and I9 which may be anchoredjwithinthebase portion The. ha ehcrtioh ll 2' h ou which h ank rti ns c ccn fin er la and 9 ext nd n n u ward direc nihe ase p rtion its. elsecneh. tthehctt m asshown, and alsoat the back, and is provided with a back cover plate 24.

e he emm up or ihaper icn. efithe. housineisel e p n at he heck endi prc id t suita le.rece eesteehdizfi tc r ce e he u p endsct he on a g rs Mende h -h c his .DDITHOIL .ei the hou ng is. lc QY' Z QQI HSQieeter-p ete 1 t. w ll e se be observed that the bottom of the housing. portion !.?..i ch nand-ih mmuhi a i n i h the. upper ope in 23 i hehese ncrticn n o er to pr videzier'a l t diemc mt o rela ive m remeritbe weenv the t o s parate portions H and I2 of the housing, provision is made her. cchh ctine r. at achin hem eset b or. a suitable. flexible icihthi. his

. pcr ien. i2-

4 28 connecting the two portions of the housing together, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It is to be understood, however, that any other suitable connecting means may be utilized for this purpose.

It will be observed that the spring member 28 is formed of fiat material and is cut by means of a U-shaped piercing 29 so as to provide two interconnecting operating portions 3| As shown best in Fig. 6, the lower end 33 of the spring member is relatively straight and is in alignment with the onerating portion 3|. The upper endpr operatingportion 32 isslightly bent or set with respect to the lower end. The

spring member is provided with suitable openings tion, and the portion 3| of the spring member 1 is ineffective in the joining of the two housing portions together.

ln'view. or. the fact that, portions3| and 32. of thespringlmemberl 28 have. a-permanent set, as shewn ihc, h no mal Dc it ncf t prightportion ll :of the-housing will bev as shown in Fig. 2. In-other words. this portion of the housing;istiltedwith respect to the base portion libutisilexjibly, joined thereto so that it may be .mcvee hec a'r'dlr cr to. h l fte viewed 'in-therdra ss. when he lamp is ins =Th hhrieht c etre ehtpcrti n 3' cf h springmernber 28 serves as a limitor or stop to limit the backward movement of the housing o t on '2... th forward movem nt. the eof bein dete m ned-tithe. etio th spr n membe 28 e deli .hy. the in wh c t e lowe end or the- 'cusin 2; s fe medand pc i h w spri g ember. 28: th y. b str t e o stiff ned. hya r b. 3 ormed. l gt s th in, esche the 5.; .Thispe mi l use c e zhcre i xihle meteriaiicriicinine he two h i ispcrt chs i! amid'zitcsether. nd t l p ovides th heth in th v o e t ecr iehv 3!. ci theshnhe memb r .tq ef c i limit the backward movement of the housing lhiew cf thefact thetthe e. isr ative mov he we h the. twancrtiohs. l l: and, 4 of t hcesihgthe-cchtact fin ers 8- and I9 ih h instance are made from round, resilient currentcehclec inam er l.es ho .z en e located w thi th ihcusihethetthey wi follow h movement. pi. th amh su hort eportion. 2 thereo .with ut.talt heahermerieh de o ma on er in. wa ih erieriri with. the ree ncec As, shown in Fig; 2,;the contact fingers are positioned between the frontface of the housing portion J2 and alug portion 41 which provides for always maintainingthe upper ends of the ccntect h e ejclcsetv. eciecc t the e c the house-servic eh he creams T te'cttlee ere. aleczltqs i eh c betw en. h e posed'lugportions 42 'a'n'd43 so as to give them and 32.

the proper amount of tension to insure goodelectrical contact between them and the contact pins of the lamp.

Since the contact fingers have their lower ends rigidly attached to their terminal portions which are securely anchored in the base portion I I,-they also have a spring efiect urging the housing portion l2 forwardly and resisting its backward movement to some extent depending uponthe stiffness of the fingers.

It will be apparent from Fig. 8 that when two of the lamp holders of my invention are mounted, as shown, to support a double-ended tubular lamp, the housing portions IE will be urged inwardly toward the ends of the lamps so as to normally support the lamp in a positive manner.

The lamp holder of my invention also provides for positively locking the lamp within the holders regardless of whether or not the lamp has'been properly inserted. This result is accomplished by the use of a pair of projecting lugs 45 and 45 formed on the face of the housing portion I-2, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. These lugs are positioned on opposite sides of the entrance portion of the slot l4 and extend outwardly or forwardly a sufficient distance, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8 to mechanically engage the end bases 4! and 48 of the lamp. In other words, as shown in Fig. 8, these two lugs on each of the lamp holders project over the ends of the lamp, and since the up right portions of the holders are normally biased toward each other against the opposite ends of the lamp, the lamp is securely locked in position.

As will be observed from Fig. 8, the two lamp holders used with each lamp are mounted in predetermined spaced relation in the same manner that conventional holders are mounted. It will be apparent, however, that since the holders a flexible that the mounting space therebetween need not be nearly so accurate as before as the movement of the lamp-supporting portions I2 of the holders toward and away from each other is sufficient to compensate for considerable inaccuracy in mounting.

In view of the fact that the housing portions will not accidentally drop from the holders.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 9 through 14, the housing 58 is formed in two parts, one part 5| constituting the base portion of the housing, and the other part 52 constituting the upright or lamp-supporting portion thereof. This housing is constructed in generally the same manner as that of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 through 8 and is provided on its face with suitable slots, not shown, forr-eceiving the contact pins of the lamp.

This embodiment of the invention, however, differs from the other in that the flexibility between the parts 5| and 52 i obtained by utilizing the contact springs or fingers instead of a separate spring member as in the other embodiment. In this instance, the contact springs 53 and 54 have their lower ends attached to terminal portions 55 and 56 which are securely anchored in the base portion 5! by means of suitable slots formed therein.

In order to cause the contact springs 53 and 54 to also function as a flexible hinge betweenthe 6 two separate parts of the housing, each contact spring is provided with a clamp member rigidly secured to the shank portion thereof. Thus, the contact spring 53 is provided with a clamp'member 51 and the contact spring 54 with a clamp member 58. As shown best in Fig. 14, these clamp members are L-shaped and are provided with an opening 59 to receive a suitable attachin screw 50.

As shown in Fig. 9, the upper portion 52 of the housing is provided with oppositely disposed internal lug portions BI and 62, the outer'ends of which are engaged by the contact springs and function as-a pivot or fulcrum therefor. These lugs are utilized for the purpose of mountingand attaching the clamp members of the contact springs, thusrigidly securing the contact springs to the upper portion of the housing.

The position of the contact springs with respect to the front face of the upper portion of the housing is clearly shown in Fig. 10. The shape of the clamps is such as to maintain their associated contact springs in proper position with respect'to the slots in the face of t -e housing, and

(ill

two parts of the housing.

ard or conventional holders now in use.

at the same time permit the contact springs to function as resilient hinge members between the As shown in Figs-10, 12, and 13, the contact springs are so shaped as to normally hold the upper portion 52 of the housing in a forwardly tilted position with respect to the base portion 5|.

This embodiment of the invention also provides for positively locking the lamp within the holders regardless of whether or not the lamp has been properly inserted. In other words, the holder is provided with projecting lug portions 63 and 64 on the face thereof which function in the samemanner as the projecting lug portions and 48 of the other embodiment.

In view of the foregoing detailed description of two embodiments of my invention, it will be apparentthat I have provided lamp holders for use with double-ended tubular lamps of various types which differ considerably from the stand.-

I have provided flexible holders which are of simple construction and which are economical to produce. The holders of my invention may be used inter changeably with any holder of the same size now in use in fixtures of all types. The use of my holders may in many instances improve the flxture and reduce maintenance expense thereon in those fixtures where the lamp holders have not been properly spaced during manufacture.

While I have shown and described two specific embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and changes may be made therein without departing fromthe principles of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

'1.A lamp holder for use with tubular lamps having spaced contact pins at the ends thereof comprising, a mounting base portion having contact terminals mounted therein and an opening in ber mechanically connecting the base andlampsupporting portions together, said spring'member serving as a flexible joint betweensaid' portions and functioning to bias the lamp-supporting portion to a tilted-position'with respect to the base portion.

2. A lamp holder for use with.v double-ended tubularylamps having spaced contact pins at the ends thereof comprising, a. generally hollow housing of insulating material iormed in two main portions one of which serves as a base portion and the other as a lamp-supporting portion, elongated flexible contact fingers mounted within the housing with corresponding ends attached to the base portion and their free ends extending into the lamp-supporting portion disposed to engage the lamp pins when inserted into the holder, and a spring member. connecting said base and lampssupporting portions together,- saidspring member being in the form of a leaf spring with its upper end having a flexible portion attached to the lamp-supporting portion of the housing and bent over slightly with respect to its lower end and a straight unbent portion serving as .a stop member, whereby the lamp-supporting portionof the housing is normally biased to a forwardly ilted'position with-respect to;the base portion and its backward movement limited by the unbent portion'of the spring- 3. A lamp holder for use with double-ended tubular lamps having contact pins at the ends thereof comprising, a housing of insulating material formed intwo main portions one of which serves as a base portion and the other as a lampsupporting portion, elongated contact fingers mounted within the housing disposed to engage the lamp pins, and a flat spring member attached to the back of the base portion and the lampsupporting portion to resiliently retain the lampsupporting portion in an upright position on the base portion, said spring member having one portion thereof bent intermediate its ends to normally tilt the lamp-supporting portion in one direction with respect to the base portion and having an integral unbent free portion disposed to limit the movement of the lamp-supporting portion in the opposite direction-by engaging the back of the lamp-supporting portion.

4. A lamp holder for use with-double-ended tubular'lamps comprising, a housing formed in two main portions one of which has a top opening and serves as a base portion and the other of which has a bottom opening and serves as a lamp-supporting portion, said lamp-supporting portion being positioned on said base portion with said openings in registering relation and having at least one protruding lug: member formed on one face hereof adjacent its upper end, elongated contact fingers mounted on the base portion and extending through said opening into the lampsupporting portion, and a spring member mechanically connecting said base and lamp-supporting portions together and normally biasing the lamp-supporting portion to a tilted position with respect to the base portion, said protruding lug portion serving to mechanically lock the lamp into the socket.

5. A lamp holder for use with double-ended tubular lamps comprising, a housing'formed in two main portions one of which'serves as a base portion and the other as a lamp-supporting portion, said lamp-supporting portion having a slot in one face thereof adjacent its upper end to receive the contact pins of a lamp and having a pair of lug portions formedon said one face at its upper end-on'either side of said slot, flexible contact fingersv mounted within the housing hav- Ling their upper ends disposed adjacent the slot,

and a flat springmemberponnecting the base adapted to mechanically engage the and-lamp supporting portions together end n ermally. biasing the lamp-supporting portionyto ;;a tilted position with respect to the :base portion.,;

6. A lamp holder for use with double-ended lamp, a pair of elongated resilient contact fingers supporting portion to a tilted position with respect to the baseportion, said lamp-supporting portion having lug portions formed thereon at its upper end on the face thereof containing the slot end oflthe lamp.

7. A lamp holder for use with double-ended tubular lamps comprising, a hollow housing formed in two separate parts one of which serves as a mounting base-portion and the other as a lamp-supporting portion, flexible contact members mounted in the housing having one end thereof attached to the base. portion and the other free end extending into the lamp-supporting portion for engagement with the lamp pins, and spring means mechanically connecting the base and lamp-supporting portions of the housing together to provide a flexible hinge, connection and permit relative lateral movement there- 'between in one plane of movement only, said spring means normally functioning to resiliently hold the lamp-supporting portion in a tilted position with respect to the base portion and'permit backward movement thereof in said'one plane of movement.

8. A lamp holder for use with tubular lamps having spaced contact pins at the ends; thereof comprising, a hollow base portion having an opening in the top thereof, a separate hollow lampsupporting portion mounted'on the base portion over the top opening, a pair of elongated resilient contact members having corresponding ends attached to the base portion and extending into the lamp supporting portion through the opening in the base portion with their opposite free ends positioned to be engaged by the lamp pins, and connecting members rigidly connecting the contact members intermediate their ends to the lamp supporting portion, whereby the contact members also function as a resilient hinge connection between the base and lamp supporting portions.

9. A lamp holder for use with tubular lamps having spaced contact pins at the ends thereof comprising, a hollow base. portion having an opening in the top thereof, a separate hollow lamp supporting portion mounted on the base portion over the top opening, a pair of elongated resilient contact members havin corresponding end terminal portions rigidly secured within the base portion and their opposite free end portions through the top opening and positioned tobe engaged by the lamp pins, and a clamp member rigidly secured to each contact member inter- 9 mediate its ends and detachably secured to the lamp supporting portion, said contact members being shaped to normally hold the lamp supporting in a tilted position with respect to the base portion, whereby the contact members also function to mechanically hinge the base and lamp supporting portions together and provide for a limited hinging movement therebetween in one plane of movement only.

CHARLES H. HODGKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number Great Britain Oct. 28, 1926 

